Columbia cancels in-person classes and Yale protesters are arrested as Mideast war tensions grow

Columbia University canceled in-person classes on Monday and police arrested several dozen protesters at Yale University as tensions continue to rise on American college campuses due to the war in the Middle East.

The moves at the two Ivy League schools took place hours before the Jewish holiday of Passover was set to begin Monday evening.

Police officers arrested about 45 protesters at Yale and charged them with trespassing, said Officer Christian Bruckhart, a spokesman for the New Haven Police Department in New Haven, Connecticut. They were all released on the promise that they would appear in court later, he said.

Last week, police in Columbia arrested more than a hundred pro-Palestinian protesters who had set up an encampment on the New York City campus.

Columbia President Minouche Shafik said in a letter to the school community on Monday that she was “deeply saddened” by what happened on campus.

“To de-escalate the resentment and give us all an opportunity to consider next steps, I am announcing that all classes will take place virtually on Monday,” Shafik said.

She said faculty and staff should work remotely when possible, and students who don’t live on campus should stay away.

Shafik said the conflict in the Middle East is terrible and that she understands that many are experiencing deep moral distress.

“But we cannot allow one group to dictate the terms and try to disrupt important milestones, like graduation, to advance their point,” Shafik wrote.

In the coming days, a working group of deans, school administrators and teachers will try to find a solution to the university crisis, noted Shafik, who did not say when in-person classes will resume.

Several students from Columbia and Barnard College said they were suspended for participating in last week’s protests, including Barnard student Isra Hirsi, the daughter of Democratic U.S. Rep. Ilhan Omar.

At Yale, a large group of protesters gathered after Monday’s arrests and blocked a street near the campus, said Bruckhart, the police spokesman. There were no reports of violence or injuries.